Lady Spartans Finish Second To Helena

Box Score   

For the second week in a row the Sentinel Lady Spartans and Helena Lady Bengals faced off for the number  one spot, for the second year in a row the two teams would via for a state, and for the second year in a row Helena would take the title from Sentinel.

From the start it would be a three point show from the Lady Bengals as their first points of the game would be a three from senior Kamden Hilborn. Sentinel came out running and scored from the free throw line, putting Helena’s Hilborn and Jamie Pickens in foul trouble early. Going 3-4 from the free throw line in the opening minutes, Sentinel took the first quarter with an 11-8 lead.

The second quarter would be a battle of will’s between Helena’s Hilborn and Sentinels Kylie Froholich as the two swapped points in the paint and trips to the charity stripe. A battle ensued threw the second quarter and the Lady Bengals clawed their way back into the game from beyond the arc. The first half ended with drama as Sentinel and Helena fought under the Lady Spartan basket with Kayla Daily chucking the ball at the hoop at the buzzer to earn a trip to the free throw line as time expired.

With a one point lead to start the third quarter the Helena Bengals had posession of the ball and went to work from long distance. On a trio of trips down the hard wood Helena jumped out to a lead with Payton Aasved knocking down back to back three pointers, and Hilborn capping the trio off to counter a Jordyn Schweyen three pointer. Due the flurry of three pointers the Lady Bengals jumped out to 40-32 lead to end the third quarter.

In the final quarter the Lady Spartans went to the paint and found success with Lexi Deden who dropped eight points in the final half of the game. Froholich tried to rally the team with gritty play on the boards, but could not get the ball to fall into the bucket, yet earned her way to free throw line to go 3-4. In the end the lead built in the third quarter off the long ball by Helena prevented  Sentinel from making a come back and the Lady Bengals secured the state title for the second year in a row.